Book club kit My lovely wife in the psych ward My lovely wife in the psych ward /

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED AMERICA: How Darwin's Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation, by Randall Fuller. (Penguin, $18.) Fuller's lively account focuses on the responses of a group of New England intellectuals to Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." The book is perhaps most surprising on the subject of Thoreau, for whom Darwin's writings would prove influential. MANHATTAN BEACH, by Jennifer Egan. (Scribner, $17.) In a follow-up to her novel "A Visit From the Goon Squad," Egan tells the story of a Brooklyn Navy Yards worker during World War II. The Times critic Dwight Garner called it "an old-fashioned page turner, tweaked by this witty and sophisticated writer so that you sometimes feel she has retrofitted sleek new engines inside a craft owned for too long by James Jones and Herman Wouk." RETURN TO GLORY: The Story of Ford's Revival and Victory at the Toughest Race in the World, by Matthew DeBord. (Grove, $16.) Over 50 years ago, a Ford heir set out to win Le Mans, the dangerous race across France's backroads. In 2016, the company returned again to the high-stakes course; DeBord recounts the designers and drivers behind the renewed push, and tells the story of Ford's triumphs. THE ANSWERS, by Catherine Lacey. (Picador, $16.) To pay for her unconvetional physical therapy, a woman becomes part of an actor's latest project: to design the perfect partner, piece by piece. The woman serves as an "Emotional Girlfriend," agreeing to leave a toothbrush at his house, give him keys to her place, affirm his views and send him pithy texts. Molly Young, our reviewer, wrote that the story is "funny and eerie and idea-dense - a flavor combination that turns out to be addictive." MY LOVELY WIFE IN THE PSYCH WARD: A MEMOIR, by Mark Lukach. (Harper Wave/HarperCollins, $15.99.) Three years into their marriage, the author's wife suffers a psychotic breakdown, setting in motion a nightmarish cycle of major depressive states, psychosis and nearly round-the-clock care. Lukach's voice - unsparing and even ruthless, but grounded in love - helps the book vault past the stereotype of an illness memoir. UNDERGROUND FUGUE, by Margot Singer. (Melville House, $16.99.) In this debut novel, the lives of four Londoners become entwined amid the terrorist attacks of 2005. Esther is caring for her dying mother, and strikes up a friendship with her neighbors, an Iranian scientist and his son, Amir. But her paranoia about Amir threatens to derail not only their friendship but the families' futures.

How one couple battled together against the wife's mental health issue.Lukach, a ninth-grade teacher, and his wife, Giulia, had a near-perfect life. They'd met in college, almost instantly became a couple, and quickly grew their relationship into a classic love story. They had successful jobs, ambitions, and dreams that filled their lives. The years passed, and they agreed to have children. However, shortly after starting a new job, Giulia became increasingly anxious about work and life in general, and she began experiencing full-blown psychosis, requiring immediate hospitalization. Lukach does an excellent job of showing the rapid decline his wife experienced as she went through her first, second, and third breakdowns, the evolution of his role as caretaker and partner, and the roles played by their immediate families and closest friends in the recovery process. The author details the harrowing first moments in the hospital when no one quite knew what was happening to Giulia and the endless time he spent struggling to get answers from doctors and nurses. "The first few days of Giulia's hospitalization," he writes, "I spent almost every waking hour on the phone.With every call I made, I grew increasingly agitated at the inflexibility of the mental health system." Lukach recounts the deep, suicidal depression Giulia endured after returning home and the fears he felt for his wife's safety. The end of the first breakdown will come as a great relief to readers; by the third breakdown, they will know what to expect but will also share the author's fears for the safety and well-being of their young son. Lukach's compassion and love for his wife, as well as his fears and anger, are evident throughout, making this memoir a satisfying read despite the context of the story. An honest and rewarding memoir of a couple's compassion and love for each other. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.